Another government infrastructure project. Sadly, whichever way this goes one thing is guaranteed: A ton of our tax money will be spent, and the projections of great benefits will not be realized. I do not have a dog in the fight regarding rail vs. trail. The only thing my dog is fighting for is that we spend as little of my money as possible, because it's guaranteed to be wasted.

I am a bit confused by why you're denigrating cyclists as non-spenders though. Have you spent any time in Placid in the summer and seen the number of cyclists in the area, especially out along the Ironman course and on River Rd? I'd bet all my money they're not all hiking in to state land at the end of their ride for free camping, or cooking pasta they brought from home. These are people riding bikes costing a couple thousand dollars, they're usually not accused of being cheap. The Lake Placid Pub sells a cycling jersey and charges $85 for it!

I certainly respect your comments and acknowledge the perception that I have denigrated cyclists. I am, after all, one of those who has a 2K+ bike--- powered, I regret to say, by a 7 decade old body.

__________________"Days in the woods are days beyond time"--Paul Jamieson

That's been my experience as well, even south of Horseshoe. This photo is from just south of Hitchins Pond. The light colored ties with metal on the ends look like relatively recent replacements, and the rest are basically doing nothing. It would cost a fortune just to get the track up to the condition where it could handle trains going 30mph, and then who wants to spend 6 hours going from Utica to Lake Placid except as a one-time novelty trip just to see it?

The tie replacement is fine, it will hold your trains on the track as long as the ballast is solid enough.

here's some really bad track, trying to locate a better picture.

The concensus of the planning now seemed to suddenly switch to trail/rail.
If they keep the rails and improve the Tupper line the railroad gains a continuous unsplit line all the way to Lake Placid, this would be excellent.
Build a trail next to it everybody is happy. I am not familiar with the exact route of the railroad and its land location if there are any squeeze plays in routing for both.
There are -plenty- of reasons to keep the rail line, and I am not talking about the land reversion I am talking about practicalities.

The number of healthy ties and the distance from each other simply dictate the max speed the train can go. This is a figure under their operation rules. They are added to when money becomes available using volunteers. Money is the issue whether a trail or train. The rail to trail people are, at least in one interview, banking on the recycling the metal etc. to pay to build the trail. However, at least to my knowledge, the rails belong to the railroad company... they are responsible for them- not sure they would be willing to give them away.

In another interview- i heard the rails to trails guy describe the track as a green featureless boring hallway- no reason to ride a train with no view... this is true- tracks follow the least interesting paths- this isn't the Canadian rail that has the remote Rockies to view. etc. What he failed to realize is that on a train- you have the destination to reach, and conversation and entertainment possible on board, eating and drinking.... he never did explain is why anybody will want to hike or bike the very same green featureless boring hallway that a has even less outlook from ground level or protection from the swarms of insects we all know and love.. and at (maybe) 20 minutes per mile- slow torture with the only possible entertainment of hearing your feet trudge along. Be like hiking the thruway.

Transporting hikers to other trails or boaters to various overpasses, or bikers to remote trails so they do a return trip along routes that have something to see... would seem to me to be a legitimate draw. Or those rail bikes a novelty.. As well as a trainload of riders who arrive in Lake Placid with the sole intent of eating and bopping around the shops or staying over. Hikers come, get sweaty and bitten and get in their cars and go home, maybe grabbing some gas and a sandwich. I know that's what I do 99% of the time.

Finally once its gone its gone forever- we have a train/track shortage in that area- with trails in abundance, no trail shortage.

...For me, I would prefer to take my Hornbeck on the train and launch on the Bog River, or Clear Pond, or Lake Lila, or Beaver River… ]

Is it actually possible to have the train drop you and your gear along the way? I'd think that would be an excellent draw for some paddlers. Almost as fun as attaching a canoe t0 the float of a plane

About 10 years ago at the Hudson River Derby from North Creek to Reparious had the scenic Railroad train do a shuttle back to the start of the race, coolest shuttle at a race I ever did. When new ownership came they didn't want to bother, oh well......

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